Seldom do I use this blog to register my dismay about things, but I wanted to let you know about the recent Kingfisher flight that I took for my family vacation to India from London.
No one can fault them for the severe snowfall we had in London in the week preceding Christmas, however they need to (a) sharpen up their communications, (b) be more honest & transparent with their customers, and (c) provide an agreeable standard of customer service.
Let me cite some examples:
On the day of the snow, all newsreports said that Heathrow was shut down, however the Kingfisher website showed the flight as being scheduled. So, after hanging on the phone for over an hour to their call-centre, we made our way to Heathrow as instructed by their operator. On arrival, I was totally dumbstruck with the mass of people in Terminal 4. Literally, there wasn’t an inch of floor space that you could occupy.
Having witnessed the scene, it was obvious to me that the airport would need to be closed, but just to check, I spoke with the Kingfisher representative at the check-in zone, who after being surrounded with the chaos around them for the whole day, suggested we check in as there was a “good chance” of us leaving, despite the fact that the plane meant to be taking us to Mumbai had been diverted to Brussels and in all probabilities wouldn’t land or take off from Heathrow that night!
Anyone in their sane mind could see what was going on around them. So, I quizzed another representative who admitted that their instructions were to encourage passengers to check in, despite knowing that they’d be nowhere for them to go. Pushing a lie is simply not acceptable or honourable.
Thankfully, we didn’t check in and made the decision to return home as in my view no flights would make it out that day. When I got back home, I learnt that Heathrow had since closed, and was therefore relieved that I didn’t follow the reps advice to check in and proceed as normal through immigration, else I would’ve been stuck without my luggage or transport with two kids and four suitcases in tow.
Over the next few days, I tried to rebook our tickets, and managed to confirm some seats for travel on Christmas Day, which I was happy to do as I had come off lightly from the experience so far. Rebooking the seats was burdensome, as for the first two days, they were unable to confirm which date they could accommodate us. For those out there facing issue like this frequently, I would recommend you click on this great post to read and find out why you should opt for chartered services if you are stuck in such condition.
I tried contacting them (Kingfisher and Vijay Mallya – the guy who owns the airline) using all methods, including Twitter. But they seemed intent on ignoring me. I was irritated, frustrated, and felt I was wasting time.
What’s the point of getting onto a platform like Twitter if all you intend on doing is pushing your sales messages to customers. Everyone knows Twitter is about engagement and interaction. Customers hate it when companies push their marketing down their throats, and even more so when the tweets are simply irrelevant. Next time I want to know about Bollywood films, I’ll check your Twitter feed instead of Stardust magazine! What a total joke!
So, as I was traveling with my young kids, I specified their dietary preferences and booked kids meals for them, to find that they weren’t available on either leg of my flight! The vegetarian food they had onboard was far too spicy for a child and they didn’t have any alternatives. So, my kids went hungry.
The only hope I had was that the in-flight entertainment system would keep them occupied, but to find that it kept on freezing – not just for me but for many others – on both legs of the flight. I almost felt sorry for the staff on the plane, as they had to continuously push a lie to passengers who complained by saying that this was a one-off – as was confirmed by their stewardess who said “we’ve been instructed to say these faults are a one off”. Again, we unearth instructions from management for their frontline staff to push a blatant lie.
I booked Kingfisher on the recommendation of a few friends who often travel in Business Class, thinking that those of us in Economy would prevail of some of the luxuries, such as good food and a good entertainment system that would keep my kids occupied for the duration. Sadly, this wasn’t the case. We were let down, despite our tickets being more expensive than other airlines like Jet were offering, who I’ve always been perfectly happy with. I was suckered by Kingfisher’s marketing in thinking they were going to be better.
To rub it in, at the beginning of the journey, Vijay Mallya delivers a welcome message on the in-flight system saying that he’s instructed his staff to treat customers like his personal guests. If that’s the case, Mr Mallya, I dread your hospitality at home.
It’s known that Airlines make their money in Business & First Class compartments, but it’s sickening that Kingfisher takes “guests” in economy, literally, for a ride.
Going to India, for many, is a phenomenal, lifetime experience. They associate India with great hospitality. If you’re going to claim to be a flag bearer for India, please stop. You’re doing her a great disservice.
Kingfisher fails on so many levels. All hype, no substance. A definite thumbs down from us and from the sound of it, from fellow passengers on our flight.